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はじめに

This guide will help you install the dual hard drive kit, and can be used to add either a regular hard drive or SSD. This procedure does not require you to permanently remove or disable your optical drive.

I am going to put a very important comment here. Before you start this process listen to the fans on your iMac do any of them sound obviously loud (think about how quiet your iMac used to sound as a reference) If you notice one or more of them sounding substantially loud compared to the others consider locating a replacement fan prior starting this process. After all if you are already “in the neighborhood” it is a shame to do all this work only to have to disassemble your imac a couple weeks later because you realize the fan is failing. I speak from my own personal learning experience of having to disassembly my iMac 3 weeks later because the HDD was failing and apparently the moving the fan around was just enough to push it to start really under performing.

Take care to note which way out the RAM comes - there is a notch in each RAM and it is not centered, therefore either the notch will be on the left or to the right (depending on which way up you have your iMac). This will make it easier to replace the RAM without damaging anything.

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Stick a heavy-duty suction cup near each of the two top corners of the glass panel.

To attach the suction cups, first position the suction cup with the movable handle parallel to the face of the glass panel (as highlighted in the second picture).

While lightly holding the suction cup against the glass, raise the movable handle until it is parallel with the other handle (as highlighted by the third picture).

If your suction cups refuse to stick, try cleaning both the glass panel and the suction cup with a damp soft, lint-free cloth. (Dampen with distilled water, and if needed, an equal ratio of distilled water and white vinegar for best results.)

Do not use the suction cups to carry the display glass because if one of them fails to stick, you could drop the screen and break it.

The original iMac box makes a good place to store the glass panel. Otherwise, a padded horizontal surface, like a towel on a desk will do nicely.

Yes, you don't need the specific suction cups to remove the display cover - it's held on by magnets, and if you start at the center by the iSight you can work out to the edges and remove it. I had an iPhone screen suction cup around and it helped with balancing the screen when you pull it out fully, but by no ways is it required.

Great guide and pretty straight forward the only thing that took me ages and I didn't manage to undo were the power btn cable (step 28) and the thermal sensor (step 25) Seemed like they were glued on! Very difficult to remove and obviously conscious so I didn't break anything!

Then, i did not take out the whole display and left it in the hinges on the bottom side and held it up with two small cardboard boxes. Easy enough to disconnect the hdd then.

I replaced with an ssd, put that into a ssd enclosure. Had to drill an extra hole in it to fasten the pins that hold it in place.

Used Carbon Copy Cloner to make an image from the old hdd, with the sad connected via usb. Checked it of it booted via System Preferences > Startup Disk. It worked so the took the imac apart and replaced the disk. Booted, everything was working as always, only faster!

My display data cable forks, with a smaller section going up near the camera board. Where it forks, it is attached to the aluminum plate that attaches around the cpu board. I haven't seen any images that look similar, and I'm stumped at how to remove this second section of the cable. 2010 i7 build to order

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Gently lift the glass panel perpendicular to the face of the LCD enough to clear the steel mounting pins attached along the underside of the top edge of the glass panel.

Pull the glass panel away from the lower edge of the iMac and carefully set it aside.

Don't use the suction cups to carry the glass panel—if either one loses its grip, the panel could fall and break.

After setting the glass panel down safely, be sure to release the suction cups, as the suction force over time, can crack the glass.

During reinstallation, be sure to meticulously clean the inside of the glass panel and the face of the LCD as any dust or fingerprints trapped inside will be annoyingly visible when the machine is turned on.

Reassembly: After powering on and running for a few minutes, found a large whitish patch on the screen. Persists after powerdown.

Turned out to be condensation, though it didn't look like it - more like fine white powder rubbed in. Humidity is very high this time of the year. Fix: start airconditioner in a room, leave it running a while, take iMac in, prise open the glass again. Condensation vanishes instantly. Keep it out for a ~15 minutes running infinite loops to get iMac nicely heated up and fans running. Snap glass back.

I used a Swiffer dry cloth to get all the dust off the screen while just blowing with my mouth at a steep angle. I know I didn't get every speck, but the screen looks perfect once assembled and lit again. Removing the glass from the screen is pretty easy if you need to re-clean it.

I strongly recomment to detach the suction cups while working at the rest of the steps. In my case after half an our i heart a crack noise behind me on the table... The vacuum of one of the suction cups braked the glass! maybe there should be a warning in the Repair guide

I didn't crack the screen, but it popped out of the shims and then popped back in, as if the glass edge is magnetic or has steel in it to connect to magnets. Be careful with this step — it is pretty nerve-wracking, but doable!

You need a big clean surface free, or at least 2 or more free surfaces because the iMac, the glass and the LCD display are quite bulky. You'll also probably need space for a tablet or a laptop to read this guide while you are working. And don't forget room to work on the optical unit and for the tools you are going to use. I covered a large table with a double layer of bubble wrap. In my opinion it's better to put the glass face down to limit powder sticking on the internal surface.

I am doing this repair now. After successfully lifting off the glass panel (yay!), dust blew out of the lower open edge. So I sprayed a can of air around edges. But a poof of the “air” condensated on the LCD. Does anyone know if I can clean the LCD same as how the glass is cleaned (damp cloth with equal parts white distilled vinegar/distilled water) and if not then how?

To clean the LCD panel, I would suggest using a clean microfiber cloth and rubbing alcohol. Distilled water can be used, but avoid regular water, which contains minerals. Make sure the microfiber cloth is absolutely clean and has no hard particles sticking on the surface, which will scratch your LCD when you wipe it.

Wet the surface with some alcohol and gently wipe with the microfiber cloth. Wipe in one direction.

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Due to tight tolerances, you will have to use a thin hooked tool to lift the display out of the outer case. As seen in the first picture, we made one out of a bent paperclip. A pair of angled tweezers can also work well.

Use a thin hooked tool to lift one side of the top edge of the display by its steel outer frame.

After lifting the top edge of the display on one side, hold it out of the outer case while you use a hooked tool to lift the other side.

Raise and hold the display high enough to access the cables.

Do not lift the top edge of the display out of the outer case too far, as several short ribbon cables still connect the two components.

I followed the procedure in the Apple Technician Guide and it was a lot easier. Stand the iMac upright on the stand (as per normal operation) and then carefully tilt the top of the unit towards you while holding the top of the LCD. The LCD just falls forward into you hands. It is also then easier to disconnect the cables.

This procedure can be VERY dangerous. Why? Because there is the possibility of a gravity disaster if you lose control of the screen and it falls before you disconnect the interface cables. I know. It happened to me. After studying the Apple directions I came to the conclusion that I would need both hands on releasing a couple go the cables and decided to tape off the screen in the open position - which I did very carefully and securely. What I did not account for was the tape not adhering. Needless to say when it came loose the screen fell and ruined the connector sockets (and my computer). This could also happen just trying to hold the screen with one hand while spudging the connectors apart with the other as well. SO. LAY THE iMAC DOWN! DO **N O T** GIVE GRAVITY THE CHANCE TO RUIN YOUR DAY like it did mine!

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After disconnecting the VSync cable, I was able to keep the screen wedged apart by 8" which gave me enough working room to extract and replaced the hard drive without having to remove Step 6 - 8. This resulted in a faster change out of the hard drive.

It is very hard to detach the connector with the spudger. I tried forcing the connector out with the spudger by pushing on one side and then the other repeatedly. After several times it finally came out. A tool would be useful for this; there must be special plyers for doing this. Fingernails on either side seems most obvious, but maybe there is a downside to this ?

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This step brings your hands close to the exposed rear of the power supply. To avoid a high-voltage shock from the many large capacitors attached to the board, do NOT touch the rear of the power supply.

Disconnect the LED backlight driver cable with your hand by pressing the tab down and sliding it towards the bottom of the display.

Do step 7 first. The cable is much shorter and more fragile, you'll have more space to remove the other cables if that one is removed first. On my mac, the cable in step 7 was glued down and had to be freed up before I could pull the connecter out of its socket.

Good idea! I used two chopsticks as they are longer. Placed them near the corner and use one of the T10 screw's hole in the side of LCD panel to prop it up. Fit perfectly and very sturdy. This gave me plenty of space to work with the replacement.

me too. All went well expect replace this flat cable which is tricky almost when my view is low and I've got big finger. I broke the cable end connector to motherboard but I don't know if I damaged the connector on motherboard. I'm waiting from Apple service for diagnostic.

I would suggest on the guide to add a step to explain how sensitive is to replace this cable. iMac should lay on the back and it should have some stuff to maintain the motherboard elevated in order to insert the display port flat cable to the motherboard on a less stressful way.

The ZIF display cable is tricky to get back in. I would suggest that this cable be the first one to be put back during reassembly. You need maximum wiggle room and visibility for this. Push in the display power cable *after* this one.

This is really difficult, but essentially it slides in - with no discernible click. A *slight* tug on the lever lets you know its connected. Horrible thing.

Use the ‘bic pen’ trick and you don’t have to remove this for most things but I had to go ‘back in’ to remove the super drive. I then used the tip next down and removed this connector at the screen also and put this end back in first with no screen in the way.

I found the best way for me to reinstall the ZIF cable in was to lay LCD panel on its face and gently peel the black tape on upper part of lcd to expose and remove the connector there. At this point the ribbon cable is free and you can insert the hard to align connector to the board. Set LCD into imac and connect the small push connector next to the ribbon cable on board. It was easier to see and then reconnect the cable to the upper portion of LCD and tape it back over. Reinstall other connectors etc. This way worked best on my 27" iMac as it was much easier.

I had to replace the cable due to damage from trying to reinsert it at the logic board and I found it best to re-attach it exactly the way that thewiseone71 describes it above. If you disconnect the part at the top with the tape around it, this goes much easier and there is less of a chance of damaging the port on the logic board where it attaches at the other end. I think some photos of this port, and the way this cable goes back in would be a great addition to this tutorial. Replacing this cable would also make a great tutorial.

What would be really helpful to this guide, and this image is the closest I can find in the sequence, is a quick summary of exactly where the diagnostic LEDs are on this model (and what they mean, although the latter is easily googleable). I only mention this as I believe my PSU is goosed as no LEDs are illuminated anywhere, however I can only find references to 2009 and 2010 of the similar MYs which evidently have diagnostic LEDs in a different place, hidden under tape, and I suspect numbered differently. So I can't be 100% certain!

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When I opened up my iMac, I was surprised at how dusty it was inside. You might want to have a vacuum cleaner handy to vacuum up the dust inside the case. Be careful not to vacuum up the screws, though!

FYI...I did this fix, upgraded my mid 2011 27" to a Samsung 850 EVO SSD Hard Drive. Everything went great except for two parts...

1. When I started up with my install media I got a three beep error and I could not install. I ended up using the CRTL-R at startup and did a network install that downloads an image of the original OS that comes with the system and allows you to install with the correct file.

2. Hard drive fan was spinning at full speed the whole time. This was annoying to say the least. Another person on this thread commented on this and said that you had to buy a $30 piece of software to fix it, I actually found another one that is free and works quite well (http://exirion.net/ssdfanctrl/).

There seems to be a missing step here. All the while one is removing the cables from their sockets it is supposed that the screen which is quite heavy is suspended in mid air… no, you are holding it up with one hand while doing everything single handed while in all honesty it would be nice to have both hands if for nothing else to steady your movements. So. Lets add a step. Lets figure out a solution and use some kind of prop until the screen is removable.

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If you are replacing the display panel, you will need to transfer additional components from the old panel to the new one. Compare the back of the old display with the replacement display. Note all cables, sensors, and foam cushioning that are missing from the new display.

If there is a wire or cable underneath adhesive tape, always pull the tape off first. Do not pull on the cable directly.

If the cable is glued to the chassis, use a heated iOpener or a hair dryer to soften the adhesive first. You can then slide an opening pick underneath the cable to loosen it. Never pull on the delicate connectors.

Slide an opening pick underneath the foam cushion pieces to separate them from the display, and gently pull them off. You may need some double sided tape to re-attach them to the new display.

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I would recommend placing STEP 21 (L/R speaker connector disconnect) before STEP 17…because the speaker wires sort of go over/on top of the connector in STEP 18. By putting step 21 first, those wires can be lifted and pushed aside making steps 17-20 easier.

Do not disconnect the wires. Way over complicated. Follow the OWC instructions instead: unscrew the single Torx T6 screw and then wiggle the airport card off of its socket completely. No need to remember markings or add warnings about sensitive cables. Very easy step if done as described.

I tried to unscrew the torx T6, but for some reason the screwdriver did not fit the screw. I had a T6. The screw is acting like the head is stripped already. Oh well, disconnected the tiny cables just fine.

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I have got the ssd installed as my second drive using the dual drive kit. However, after reassembling everything, the CPU fan is running at full speed. Apple Hardware Test shows a failure for the error code TA0P, which points to a failure of ambient temperature sensor/connector. I have reassembled this machine 3 times now, with and without the ssd installation components and the problem is not going away.

Does anyone know a fix for this? I do not have warranty on this machine (2011 iMac. 27'') to get the logic board replaced for free. However, I'm willing to get the sensor connector checked by a technician if that would fix it.

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The screws are of various lengths, so note carefully which order you remove them so as to replace them correctly. Especially note that of the three screws surrounding the right fan, the one closest to the optical drive is slightly longer that the other two (which are the same length).

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On the back of the MLB, below the graphics card socket, are 4 connections. While freeing the board, & as you tilt and lift it, gently rotate the whole assembly a bit less than 90˚ to the right, i.e. clockwise. This provides the slack needed to reach behind the board and disconnect them.

Should you want to completely remove the MLB (in order to repair a dead Graphics Card, for example) be sure to note the orientation of these 4 rear cables. During re-assembly, replace these in the same orientation. Otherwise there will be a tangle and you will experience problems getting the MLB back in place.

Mac upgrades website do an optical bay conversion kit that means you do not need to remove the board and the whole install takes about 30mins. Also, fan issues- if you carefully remove the thermal sensor from the optical drive (its only stuck down with a little glue on the drives surface ) you are removing and then stick it onto the surface of the new hard drive the fans work perfectly.

This guide says that “When re-installing the optical drive, the SATA cable will be sandwiched between the foam padding and the optical drive.” There’s not much foam padding to sandwich in the iMac that I have open.

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I got through everything, turned on the iMac, got the start up gong, and ... nothing. Screen stayed black and the fans started blowing like crazy, indicating failure of Apple Hardware Test. All my attempts to remedy (zap PRAM, reset SMC) failed. Uh oh.

Opened the machine back up, took out the LCD, and re-seated all four connections from display panel to logic board. Crossed my fingers and put it back together. This time, the displayed turned on, the Apple logo appeared, system booted up, and the new SSD appeared on the desktop. Yay!

The connectors from the LCD are delicate. It's tricky to seat them properly without damaging them, but don't close it up without a positive click on each one.

The upgrade has been fantastic so far. SanDisk 120GB SSD. Dramatic speed improvement. Well worth all the surgery on the machine.

i followed this guide to the T. used a 240gig Corsair GS and after it gets far along the boot process the fans blow at max speed! i took the monitor off again to make sure i had all the connections in the right place. there was one i was missing... the ambient temp lol. but i plugged it back in and still fans blow full blast :( gonna keep messing with it to see if i can figure it out :)

Hi, I have successfully installed a 1TB Seagate Hybrid hard drive and everything seems fine, except the fans are blowing at full speed constantly. Is this because the heat sensor for the optical drive is missing now? Has anyone got a solution?

It's because the standard Seagate drives contain a proprietary thermal sensor. you will have to purchase HDD Fan Control to get it to stop. It's the only solution short of shorting out the thermal sensors (dangerous).

I wouldn't recommend using HDDFanControl, because its not really a long term fix... I used it for a while, but it frustrated me that the fans didn't idle until the machine was fully booted, so if you need to do anything in single user mode, safe mode or even a boot camp or separate OSX boot up, you cannot use it. In the 2011 range, i'd recommend using this as a long term hardware solution

All sorted!! I didn't realise I could install the optical drive back over the new hard drive, the fan keeps both very cool. Once I connected the optical drive & thermal sensor the fans calmed down to 1100 rpm. If you don't want to install the optical drive just take off the thermal sensor and connect it to the new hard drive and the logic board. Another thing I have learned in this experience is you need the optical drive in to install Windows (bootcamp) or you get a partitioning error at install. It is a safety feature Apple incorporated. Hope this helps others!! Thanks again for the replies

OWC has a pretty good vid of this mod, including lots of important cautions which are absent from this guide. OWCmacsales is the channel name. I will be using all available material as this mod is high on the pucker-power scale.

Why has double sided tape been used in this guide instead of the SSD brackets that are designed to be screw mounted under the optical drive? there are 3 screw mounts allocated to the mounting of the SSD. With the heat that is generated by the iMac machines, i'd be worried about it losing its bond and falling down, especially using tape bought from Boots instead of high strength industrial tape...

There was a slight amount of compression when re-setting the logic board, but it doesn't appear to have stressed or pinched anything (yet). It certainly goes in a bit awkwardly. It does suffer a bit of a twist while man-handling it in & out. A bit unnerving.

The first set of suction cups had a defect and one wouldn't hold, & ifixit sales got one in the mail lickety split. +5 stars, ifixit sales!

A few suggestions managing airborne dust:

— do the hack on a windless, foggy day

— see the OWC video for how to handle & temporarily store the glass & LCD

— use a small camel-hair brush to drag dust mites to the edge of the LCD or glass during re-assembly.

I followed this guide successfully with the kit from ifixit and everything works very nicely. However, I somehow lost the sd card cable, which is not a big deal since my mom doesn't use the sd card slot. I'll put it back next year when I replace the hdd.

If you are planning on doing this, I have a couple of suggestions for you:

* count the cables you disconnect

* before putting the logic board back in, tape all the cables to the sides with some masking or electrical tape and count them again

* try not to touch the lcd, fingerprints are a pain to remove, don't touch the underside of the glass panel either, put it down suction cups down

I did this upgrade this week and was successful. I definitely don't recommend attempting this if you've never done a PC build, studied PC repair, or don't have steady hands. It helps a lot if you have a spare laptop playing the OWC video and playing/pausing it as you do each step. Also, I wore latex gloves to help prevent fingerprints from getting on the LCD.

A tip for migrating to the SSD: install a new OS instead of cloning. After I installed the SSD, I could not get into the Recovery due to some error, which using Recovery is an essential step to migrate OS X from the HDD to the SSD. A way around this issue is downloading Mavericks via the Mac App Store and do a new OS X install. From there, install OS X on your new SSD, then use the Migration Assistant to move everything to your new drive, which it does really well for you. Then, you can toggle Startup Disk in System Preferences (in case you aren't booting using the SSD).

I installed the ssd and now I have the cpu fan running at full blast. it seems to start about 10 seconds after the iMac starts. I've go far as to undo and redo all of the steps TWICE. I've also detached the ssd and the cpu fan still runs at full blast. I've also tried the software solution and nothing works? It seems to be running at 3800 constantly. Any ideas? Please HELP!

Today I installed a Samsung EVO 840 250GB SSD behind the optical drive and swapped out the original 1TB Seagate HDD for a 2TB one. Works great.

This is not a very difficult thing to do. Just keep calm.

The hardest thing was to put the motherboard back in place...

My tips:

1. Read the steps a couple of times.

2. Have someone helping you holding the panel up while disconnecting those 4 cables.

3. Use a spudger and your fingernails to remove the cables. (spudger on one side/tab, fingernail on the other tab, or if possible just fingernails.

4. Mark every cable you disconnect (for example "pwr btw"). This make the rewiring a piece of cake.

5. Don't clean the "glass" with anything other than very hot water. I held it on the edges and held it in the shower. Any glass polisher or so will give you a headache. (I have tried to get it really clean several time before) Now its as good as new.

6. Yes. The fans WILL spin, but I use HDD fan control. Now it's super-SILENT ;)

There are too many steps in this guide that are unnecessary. Reading the comments, it seems like people are making mistakes and having problems. Follow the online video at OWC and it is an easier process, although still advanced. When you buy an SSD kit, it includes the proper length SATA cable and thermal double-sided tape. Someone commented about an SSD bracket behind the optical drive. Apple did not include the SSD bracket unless you bought the Mac build-to-order directly from Apple with their SSD installed. That is why thermal double-sided tape is used to secure the drive behind the optical drive. It won't go anywhere because the drive rests on the top of the optical bracket when you press it against the back panel, and the optical drive is re-installed in front of the SSD holding it in place. I did this upgrade about a year ago using a Samsung 840 EVO 1TB SSD and it is awesome.

Well. First I tried to source all of the parts in Canada, thinking it would take forever to get here from ifixit. I wasted more time doing that than anything else. It took 3 days for the HD, cables and repair kit to get here.

I have worked on, in and around computer my whole career so I was eager to take this on. The tear down and installation were straight forward (have the guide handy) but getting the main board seated in the right spot was frustrating to say the least. It wouldn't go back in, it took me over 30 minutes of careful attempts . It is all in there now and I am extremely happy with the performance and the storage!

Since I installed the "Dual Hard Drive Kit" (the second cable basically) the FIRST SATA connector doesn't work any longer !

(I installed my second drive, wondered why it was not recognised, though it might even be broken 'till I switched the two disks and found out now my new disk was recognised but the old one was no longer visible).

My main objective was to switch my old (slow !) 1TB disk for a new 2TB with 4GB SSD cache.

So that's done.

But any idea why the primary SATA connector would no longer work ?

Is there anything like "primary" and "slave" switch (sadly known in the PC world ...) I should worry about ?

After installation of this setup my ODD Fans are going crazy. I did run a AHT and the error told me there is something wrong with the ODD temp sensor. So i tried replacing the temp sensor with a new one. I also tried removing the SSD and get back to the default state, also nothing.

can't you just use the optical drive sata connectors to connect the new HD? just wondering cos i've seen other solutions which seem to attach the hd to a mount and then re-plug the optical sata cable back to that mount and looks MUCH MUCH MUCH easier.

i'm still to do this i've just ordered the kit, but if i would have seen the other kit before i would have ordered that one instead i think :/

UPDATE: I still had fan issues after the "shorting trick" described above. However, running Apple Hardware test I found that I had a ambient CPU temperature sensor error. THIS DID NOT SHOW UP AS AN ERROR USING FAN CONTROL SOFTWARE, all sensors reported OK. I t turns out that sensor sockets can very easily be installed reversed when reassembling. It was very easy to fix when the sensor was identified. If you have trouble running the Apple Hardware test, have a look at the sensor connections: The solid plastic side should be down.

I now have no fan issues with an SSD installed as secondary, keeping the original HDD intact to make a great fusion drive. The "shorting trick" is probably only necessary if you replace the drive with the SSD.

The morale is: RUN THE APPLE HARDWARE TEST, do not trust the sensor values reported by the fan control programs.

Booting with D or OPTION-D should start the hardware test. This did not work for me, so I googled to find instructions on bootable USB stick installation.

I have a question about this. What is the procedure to make a 2nd SSD the boot drive instead of the original HDD? Do I need to swap SATA Cables or can this just be done during the OS X Install? Thanks!

Option key at boot lets you specify boot device (DVD or external drive or secondary drive), but otherwise - if you're already in macOS on the old drive, goto System Preferences and select Startup Disk. You get to pick and choose whenever you want!

Excellent guide, thank you very much. I have just followed it to replace the SSD in my iMac (added 3 years ago following the same guide) and I took the opportunity - while I was up to my elbows in iMac bits - to swap the CPU. Replaced the OEM Core i5-2500S with an i7-2600. So far, touch wood, everything is running just fine. Thank you again!

- Have a can of dry compressed air to hand. You’ll need it to blow dust off the exposed LCD panel (as the guide says, do NOT touch the panel… even wiping it with a cloth can leave a residue). Chances are there’ll be an accumulation of dust on the internal fans & heatsinks. Take the opportunity to give everything a good blast.

- Screwing the LCD back is perhaps the trickiest part, because there are strong magnets around the chassis frame (to hold the glass front panel). The screws will try to “snap” to the magnets rather than lining up. Care, patience, & a steady hand are required. A sleeved screwdriver would make this MUCH easier.

More points - wish I could have put these in one comment but there’s a length limit. I’m trying to be useful here!

- There are a LOT of small connectors (temp sensors, speakers, fans, etc etc). I suggest small labels to put on the cables as you remove them; easy to miss one as you put them back, or make a mistake.

- The screws that hold the mainboard in place are of different lengths. Make a note of which screw came from where, so you can put them back in the right place.

That gives me an idea - hey, iFixit, why don’t you make available life-size templates of device internals, so that someone following your guides can print out the template and use it as a place-mat to keep the screws while working? I.e. “this screw came from the corner of the mainboard, so I will temporarily store it on that location on the printed template”…?

Not a bad idea! Paper printouts have their limitations though—one good sneeze or gust of wind and everything gets messy fast. Printouts are also arguably a bit wasteful as people tend to use them once and then toss them out. If you haven’t yet, give the magnetic project mat a try—personally it’s my favorite tool for electronics repair, hands down. Congrats on a successful repair!

Upgrade done. It is hard to connect the lcd to the motherboard (step 10). The first time I didn’t do it well and when turn on the computer, the display doens’t show nothing and the vents run like crazy. I turn off, connect again the connector (step 10) and all run well! Five star to this guide.

I added a 500GB Samsung SSD and also replaced the i5 2500S with a i7 2600. It works like a breeze! Had some issues with the ram, causing beeps after reassembly, but fortunately that was solved when switching the ram sticks a bit. Now I have a very fast iMac and together with 20GB of ram, a nice machine to do development on. Hoping that newer iMacs will again be more serviceable, but for now I am happy with this one!